Battery question

[tteal]

Hi folks.... I was wondering if someone would be so kind to answer a quick question for me since I'm still new.<br /><br />1) I noticed that my boat has two batteries and has a switch (1/2/ALL/OFF). <br /><br />What I'm wondering is:<br /><br />a) When going out for rides, is it best to just run one battery at a time or both? Could someone with this dual switch explain how you normally do this?<br /><br />Thank you!!!!!

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Battery question

Prior to starting the engine, turn the battery switch to the BOTH (ALL on some switches) position so that you have the full cranking power of the batteries. Once the engine started, leave the switch in the BOTH position while powering to the day's destination so that both batteries are charged. <br /><br />Once a powerboat dropped the hook, you then turn the battery switch to the 1 or 2 position, so that the other battery would be reserved for starting. <br /><br />When it is time to crank the engine again, the battery switch should be turned to BOTH, or possibly to the reserved battery, and the engine would be started. <br /><br />The problem, of course, is that this requires a lot of thought on the part of the operator, who is trying to relax in the first place. The inevitable result is that at some point, the boater accidentally leaves the battery switch in the BOTH position, resulting in two very dead batteries. That is why you should install a battery combiner like the West Marine Combiner 150. It does all of this automatically.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Battery question

While I may start with the switch on Both I usually run on one battery on the way to wherever and switch to the other for the way back. The alternator on most outboards does not kick out enough juice to charge two batteries effectively at the same time. <br /><br />Unless you know that both batteries are fully charged it is not a good idea to leave the master switch on Both for an extended period of time. This is because the charge will always tend to level out between the batteries. This means if you have one with a good charge and one with a poor charge the good will feed the poor resulting in the possibility that neither (or both) will have enough juice to get you started when you are ready to head home.